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I made a mobile app for my significant other and she won't use it

jerseyfonseca.com

161–170 of 310 posts

Re: I made a mobile app for my significant other and she won't use it

#161
post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Start from the assumption that you do not need any data from your users, and do not need to form an explicit relationship with them (like by having them create an account), and work from there. Treat it as a challenge - how to make your idea work under such constraints?

Noted. I'm definitely going to do this for anything else I build. Thanks for the new perspective.

I think the sign-up is fine, but the password requirements should be done away with. They don't even seem to work. Neither periods or colons count as special symbols. Generally, there shouldn't be any requirements. I use a diceware password, which is very safe, but doesn't fit the requirements.

Re: I made a mobile app for my significant other and she won't use it

#162
post #152

Given the annoyance the author expresses at the difficultly in getting the app into the Google and Apple app stores, I'm surprised they didn't just make a webapp instead. Since they were already using React, that would seem pretty natural. This app doesn't use any mobile-specific features, so it seems like doing a webapp would fit well.

I was thinking exactly the same. And if you “add to Home Screen” on iOS you even just get a tile.

The only thing I haven’t figured out yet is that sometimes opening sites which are added to Home Screen yields a dedicated browser and sometimes it just opens a new tab in safari. This happens to hacker news as well resulting in having many open tabs at the end of the day.

Re: I made a mobile app for my significant other and she won't use it

#163
post #155
post #11

> Eat my butt, Apple. Eat my butt, Google. Just let me publish my frickin app, you already emptied my pockets. I feel this. A few years ago, I made a joke app[1] which got a bit famous on campus back when I was in school, and the process of getting it on the Play store was literally harder than writing the darn thing. Nowadays, it even got removed from the Play store for some reason. I couldn't imagine running an app…

I’m still confused why people think that publishing apps to the App Store is a right and not a privilege.

Because iPhones are general-purpose computers, not video game consoles. And they are the property of their owners, not of Apple. Independent developers have not just a right but a God-given right to write code for general-purpose user-owned computers without interference from Apple, and the fact that they cannot do so means Apple is violating that right and they (Apple) should receive the pointy end of a stick until they change their ways or be legislated out of existence.

Re: I made a mobile app for my significant other and she won't use it

#164
post #11

> Eat my butt, Apple. Eat my butt, Google. Just let me publish my frickin app, you already emptied my pockets. I feel this. A few years ago, I made a joke app[1] which got a bit famous on campus back when I was in school, and the process of getting it on the Play store was literally harder than writing the darn thing. Nowadays, it even got removed from the Play store for some reason. I couldn't imagine running an app…

Wont making it as a PWA circumvent the app store restrictions?

Yep. It just wouldn't work offline because offline PWAs are a PITA.

Re: I made a mobile app for my significant other and she won't use it

#165
post #155
post #11

> Eat my butt, Apple. Eat my butt, Google. Just let me publish my frickin app, you already emptied my pockets. I feel this. A few years ago, I made a joke app[1] which got a bit famous on campus back when I was in school, and the process of getting it on the Play store was literally harder than writing the darn thing. Nowadays, it even got removed from the Play store for some reason. I couldn't imagine running an app…

I’m still confused why people think that publishing apps to the App Store is a right and not a privilege.

Because the App Store is a requirement to get software to run on their family's bought and owned hardware, in this case?

Re: I made a mobile app for my significant other and she won't use it

#166
post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Before our daughter was born, the childbirth school we were attending told us that it's important that the newborn be rotated between positions (laying on left side/right side/back/belly) every couple hours. I thought, there's no way in hell we'll be awake enough to keep track of this, and not mess up the sequence. So I bought a wall clock to serve as an indicator, one that had no back (I wanted to put a color-coded,…

Interesting, since the advice I (a non parent) had always heard was back only: https://www.lullabytrust.org.uk/safer-sleep-advice/sleeping-...

This advice seems to cycle. With our first born we also had to alternate positions. Now with the second we got the strict instructions to let sleep on the back only. According to the help it was because every once in a while the number of babies that die in the crib surges and then everyone has to sleep on their back again. But they don’t really know what is going on.

Re: I made a mobile app for my significant other and she won't use it

#167
post #162
post #152

Given the annoyance the author expresses at the difficultly in getting the app into the Google and Apple app stores, I'm surprised they didn't just make a webapp instead. Since they were already using React, that would seem pretty natural. This app doesn't use any mobile-specific features, so it seems like doing a webapp would fit well.

I was thinking exactly the same. And if you “add to Home Screen” on iOS you even just get a tile. The only thing I haven’t figured out yet is that sometimes opening sites which are added to Home Screen yields a dedicated browser and sometimes it just opens a new tab in safari. This happens to hacker news as well resulting in having many open tabs at the end of the day.

Only progressive web apps are added to the homescreen as a dedicated tile: https://web.dev/progressive-web-apps/

Re: I made a mobile app for my significant other and she won't use it

#168
post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m still confused why people think that publishing apps to the App Store is a right and not a privilege.

Because iPhones are general-purpose computers, not video game consoles. And they are the property of their owners, not of Apple. Independent developers have not just a right but a God-given right to write code for general-purpose user-owned computers without interference from Apple, and the fact that they cannot do so means Apple is violating that right and they (Apple) should receive the pointy end of a stick until…

Iphones try very hard to look like general purpose computers; that's why everyone was so pissed when they pushed that U2 album, it pierced the veil.

Re: I made a mobile app for my significant other and she won't use it

#169
post #159
post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> As a user, I'm very happy the stores impose stringent rules. I have seen this view lot from apple users. And I really feel sad that no body gives the enough credit to dev community because of whom you're getting these apps in first place, not from Apple directly (And I am sure, if they do, heck they will charge you like hell). Please understand it is mutual platform for apple/google, devs and consumers. Now days, A…

> I wish you could pay devs instead of Apple to held this bar high. Let’s be honest, the majority of the apps charge in-app for every fart. At the dawn of the app stores you could find a ton of free apps and games from hobbyists, but now it’s all about squeezing money. And the guy in the article didn’t have to publish the app in the first place, could have uploaded the app to the phone directly through the dev tools.

> Let’s be honest, the majority of the apps charge in-app for every fart.

Apple/Google take 30 % of that fart, so you guess what they get at end.

> At the dawn of the app stores you could find a ton of free apps and games from hobbyists, it’s all about squeezing money.

Well apple charge you $100 per year to upload app, are you kidding ? Plus they don't let you have another store. Everything should must go thr' their wall, so no chance to avoid charge.

> And the guy in the article didn’t have to publish the app in the first place, could have uploaded the app to the phone directly through the dev tools.

How many phones he can upload it honestly ?

Anyway, the point I am tring to say is, Apple/Google are not valuing dev community as they used to and devs are taken granted for. They should care devs as they care for consumers PR as it is mutual platform

Re: I made a mobile app for my significant other and she won't use it

#170
post #52
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Totally understandable. The sign up process is just to store your likes so that you don't need to swipe again on the same movies. Its also so that you can lookup and add your friends. I understand the frustration, though. I'm working on a version with webhooks where you can just join a lobby and start swiping.

> The sign up process is just to store your likes so that you don't need to swipe again on the same movies. > Its also so that you can lookup and add your friends. Right, but what about that requires me to type in three magic strings into three (wait, actually probably six?) input fields? Just associate the data on the server with some UUID that you store on my device. Inviting others could work by just sharing a lin…

I like the idea. However I think there is a reason why it typically works like this app does.

Now what happens if you switch phones or use multiple devices? The behaviour would be inconsistent. What if I build up a large amount of likes/dislikes? Would they be suddenly gone without way to export them?

Additionally, I actually would like it not to store data. Maybe I want to get the recommendation for a movie next time because I’m just not in the mood to watch that Horror movie right now. Edit: this last bit is actually exactly what elliekelly write more eloquently.

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